Unique
by SilentListener25
Summary: A year after they return... Something is wrong with Sora and he hides it from his friends. Someone is after him. Someone wants to hurt him. Someone will get him.
1. Unique

Unique

A year ago, Sora and Riku came back from their adventure. Since then, Kairi had been sticking with them like glue and smiling a lot more when they looked at her. Of course, she had Namine to talk to and Sora had Roxas but apart from that and their growth, nothing really changed. They were going to have a party to celebrate the anniversary of their return. Riku and Sora just looked at each other when Kairi asked them but they reluctantly agreed.

~~~~~~~**NOW**~~~~~~~

"What do you think about this party?" Sora asked Roxas as they walked back from school.

"I think it's a great idea, it might even get you to crawl out of your modest, little shell!" He laughed.

Sora tilted his head and looked at him then gave him his trademark smile.

Sora stopped suddenly and sat on the sand. Roxas walked a few more steps before realising and turning to him. "Sora?"

"I just need a second." He said, calmly. He looked out toward the sea and sighed.

Roxas did the same.

Sora woke to the loud ringtone of his phone and the sea's roar. He fumbled in his pocket for the phone and hastily flicked it open. "Hello?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'Hello?' YOU HAVEN'T COME HOME FROM SCHOOL YET!"

Sora looked at the time on the phone.

"Oops."

"Yeah... Oops! Get here right now!"

"Sorry, Mum. I'm coming."

She hung up the phone and Sora sighed again. He looked at Roxas, he was asleep, too.

"Psst. Roxas. Wake up."

He didn't.

Sora moved over to him and looked down at his face. "ROXAS!" He bellowed.

Roxas woke with a start and pouted at Sora. "What?"

"We've been asleep for around two hours."

"WHAT?" He repeated, springing up.

Sora slowly got up, yawned and stretched.

"C'mon." And he began walking home again, Roxas following him.

That night, Sora couldn't get back to sleep.

_I knew this was going to happen, __He thought. __Shouldn't have gone to sleep earlier._

He quietly got dressed, stepped over the snoring Roxas, and slid out the front door.

He moved soundlessly towards the beach again. He sat down and closed his eyes, listening to the waves. After a few minutes, a deep, slithering voice called his name. He looked around, saw nothing and dismissed it as the sea. After another while, he heard it again, but louder. It was coming from the water, like the sea itself was speaking to him. He sat up on his knees and crawled forward. He stopped about a quarter of a metre away. He heard the voice again, louder still. He stretched out his right hand and touched the surface of the water. He almost calmed when a hand burst from the water and gripped his wrist. He gasped and pulled back, staring. The hand subsided, back into the water. Sora lay for a moment and breathed deeply then felt a shooting pain where the hand had grabbed him.

He looked at his wrist and saw that it was bleeding; he took one last glance at the water then headed back home at a faster pace. He entered his house and went through to his bathroom. He turned the cold water on and ran his wrist under it. Sora opened the medicine cabinet with his left hand and took out a roll of bandages. He covered up the cut, ripped off the end and tied it on tightly. Just as he put on a long-sleeved top to hide the bandages a voice mumbled behind him, "Sora?"


	2. What to do

Quick Author note: Sorry for the chapter's being so short and, just like Roxas, Namine is a real person, not just a figure.

Sora jumped and turned, Roxas was standing in the door-way, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "What are you doing?"

Sora turned away from him and pretended to be busy tying his shoe lace, "Nothing."

"Well, why are you up? It's... 3 o'clock in the morning!"

"Couldn't sleep."

Roxas looks at him, shrugs and goes back to bed.

Sora stands back up and sighs. He wondered what he should do, maybe tell Riku?

But he didn't want anyone to worry, plus it might not have really happened, it could have been a dream.

He looked down at his wrist and slowly shook his head. No. Not a dream. But it could be a one-time thing. It might never happen again. Sora decided after a while that he won't tell anyone but he should be wary of the beach.

He stayed up the rest of the night and gazed lazily out of his window. As soon as it was light enough, he went back out to the beach and tried to find where he was attacked. After a few minutes of searching he saw a dent in the sand where he had sat last night. He turned his head to the water and thought about touching it when a shout of his name brought him back. He spun round and saw Roxas running towards him, fumbling with his jacket. "Hey, Sora!"

"Hey." He laughed.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Your jacket's inside-out!" Sora said, almost choking.

Roxas quickly changed it and looked at Sora, "Shall we go get our bags for school?"

"Yeah, okay."

Roxas led the way back and Sora took one last glance at the shore before he turned and followed him.

Sora watched his teacher drone on about history or whatever. Just as the teacher was getting interesting, his voice turned into a hazy mumble. In fact, every noise in the room seemed to dim. Sora tried to listen again but it was like he was in a dream. For a split-second, a small girl from his neighbourhood was drowning. It was just an image in his mind. He clutched his fore-head, as that image gave him a major head-ache. The teacher must have just made a joke, everyone was laughing. Sora scrunched up his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sora? Are you ok?" He looked to his left and saw Kairi, half-worried, half-amused.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

She raised one eyebrow, stared at him for a moment then turned back because the teacher asked her a question.

Sora skipped lunch and went to sit on a bench outside. He thought about the girl drowning and the image came back but this time he saw a hand reaching down to her, about to pull her back up to the surface. He opened his eyes. He was on his knees in front of the bench, holding his head, again. Roxas was running towards him. Lucky for Sora, Roxas wasn't looking directly in his direction. He stumbled back onto the bench and greeted him when he got closer.

"Hello." Roxas sighed, lazily. He stretched and sat down beside Sora on the bench.

"Hey, Roxas. Do you ever feel like there's something wrong but you can't do anything about it?" He asked, thoughtfully.

Roxas tilted his head and looked at Sora with confused eyes, he had opened his mouth to answer when, "Sora! Roxas!"

They looked up, startled, to see their friends coming for them. "Hey, guys!" Smiled Kairi.

"Hi." Replied Sora, suddenly smiling, too.

Roxas does a double-take and wonders how Sora can change his mood like that.

"Something wrong, Roxas?" Namine asks, looking over to him.

"Wha-? Oh,no. Nothings wrong."

They talk for a few minutes until Roxas couldn't take it, "Oh, Sora. Didn't you need to talk to your English teacher about something?"

Sora looked confused for half a second then his smile dropped to a disappointed frown. "Hmm.. I suppose I should do that now. C'ya, guys." He jumped up off the bench and slid past them.

Roxas watched him until he was out of sight. "There's something wrong with him."

"What?" Riku jumps in.

"He's been acting strange, he just asked me if I ever felt like there's something wrong but I couldn't do anything about it, there was blood in the sink this morning, he wasn't asleep last night, there's a bandage on his wrist and I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Roxas takes in deep breaths, tears dripping from his eyes.

The other three stare at him, speechless.

Sora kicks a large stone, stops and looks at it. It shines in the sunlight. He picks it up and examines it, carefully. He notices lines in the stone, like carvings. He brings it slightly closer to his eyes and gasps, dropping it to the ground. The picture in the stone makes out as a small hand being grasped by an older one and above, in small, broken letters read, _'__Got you.'_

Sora slowly picked it up and flipped it over in his hand. He gasped again, but instead of dropping it, he threw it and ran. On the other side of the rock, was his name scratched.. in dry blood.


	3. Dreams do come true

Chapter 3 – Dreams do come true (Unique)

Quick Author note: Again, sorry for shortness. Also, sorry they all take so long.

Sora sits impatiently, waiting for Roxas. He turns his head in the direction of the school and sighs, wondering what's taking him so long. Just then, He hears a noise behind him. He spins round, standing up. "Hello?" It comes out as a whisper.

He hears a breathy voice say his name.

"He..llo?" He asks again, even quieter than a whisper.

The voice says his name again, slightly louder.

Sora backs away and runs toward the school. He stops at the door and turns, scanning the grounds. A hand grabs his shoulder and turns him to face them. Sora quickly smiles, "Where were you?"

"I was getting the guys."

Sora hears chatting from down the hall, getting closer.

"What? Why?"

"They said they wanted to walk back with us because we haven't spend much time together lately."

"Oh, Okay..."

They all leave the school, heading to Sora's house. They chatted irrelevantly and whenever they asked Sora, he would just nod and agree. Every once in a while, he would glance around them, watching everywhere.

They started to cross to the beach when Sora saw the little girl running across the sand. He froze, making the others stop. "Sora?" Riku steps forward and looks at him. "Sora, we know something is wrong. If you could explain-" But he was cut off by a scream in the distance, followed by panicky shouts. They all run towards a large group of people, including a crying woman. "What happened?" Asks Kairi, comforting the woman.

"She..- went..- in..- couldn't..- stop..- her..-" She makes out, in between sobs.

Before anyone could say anything, Sora dived into the sea.

"SORA!" Riku shouts after him, taking a few steps forward.

Sora pushes himself through the waves and down towards the girl, who was silently sinking. He reached his hand down to her and took hold of her own, pulling her up. He was about to turn back to the surface when he saw a dark spot out the corner of his eye. He moved his head slowly around to see, even though he already had a clue what it was. Sure enough, a shadowy hand was shooting up through the water. It didn't have a body attached, only a dark patch big enough to be the shape of a body. He kicked his legs as fast as he could and pushed the girl to shore. She coughed and spluttered up water, making her way towards her mother. The crowd cheered, making it hard to hear anything else.

"SORA!" Riku shouts, louder than the crowd. He pointed behind Sora.

They all stopped cheering, immediately. Sora was still in the water, quite far from shore. He looked behind him to see a huge wave building up, about to crash on him. He turned back to his friends and took a deep breathe.

"NO...!" They shouted together.

The wave toppled down, merging Sora with the water.

Everyone had frozen in their place. The water only slightly wet their shoes and splattered their faces.

The water calmed again, moments later.

Riku noticed a piece of paper beside his foot and picked it up.

He stared at it for a while, not really taking it in, nor noticing the others looking over his shoulder. It was a laminated photo of Sora, drowning. In pain. Riku turned it over. In fresh blood was the single word, 'Gone.'

The word was dripping down, over Riku's hand, through his fingers and onto his shoes. A tear drops onto the paper, mixing in with the blood. He drops it and looks toward the ocean.

"Sora..." Whispers Kairi, putting a hand over her heart.

They stand there for a while, not knowing what to do.

They hear the girl cry to her mother, "Mummy, where did the nice boy go?"

The mother looks shocked and flustered, she opens her mouth then closes it again.

After what seems like forever, they see a hand rise up from the surface and push down on the water. Sora throws his head out and paddles wearily for shore.

Everyone assumes they were dreaming, they knew no-one could hold their breath that long. He drags his legs from the sea and bends over, coughing out the water. Just as he splutters out the last of it, the little girl sprints for him and attaches herself to his leg. He looks down and she lets go. He smiles at her, that original, Sora smile. She giggles back and hugs him again.

He bends down on one knee and points to himself. "I'm Sora. What's your name?"

"Seria!" She smiles.

"Well, Seria. I think now would be the time to go home with your mum."

"Ok!" She turns and begins running back to her mum. As she's running, she turns, waves and happily shouts "Thanks, Sora. Bye!"

She approaches her mother, takes her hand and starts dragging her away. The mother follows her daughter, dumbfounded. The crowd go after them to make sure their ok.

Sora turns to the guys and Roxas suddenly moves his foot back. "What's wrong?"

Roxas points, horrified, at Sora's neck. Sora moves his hand slowly to his neck, takes it back off and looks. Everyone's eyes fall on his hand. It is covered in shiny, red blood. They look out to the sea. They look back just in time to see him fall side-ways onto the sand.

The guys take a second before they go and help. They get over to him and pick him up, carefully. Riku notices Sora's hand was bleeding but he didn't pay much attention to it. He tilts Sora's head to the side and looks at the cut. His eyes widen and he loosens his grip a little on Sora. It was no ordinary cut, someone had carved a word deep in his neck. It said, "_**Soon.**_"

Sora wakes up to an extremely bright light. He squints and lifts his head a little, adjusting his eyes. He slides off the side of the bed and stands up, scanning his room. He thinks about what happened and frowns. He then tries to remember what happened underwater. Before he knew what was going on, his head bursts and he screams out in pain, grasping the sides of his head. He falls to his knees, writhing and squirming. Footsteps clatter the stairs, clumsily heading for Sora's room. The door swings open and Riku dives for him, and cradles Sora in his arms. Kairi, Roxas, Namine, Sora's mum and an unfamiliar man were standing in the door-way. Sora screams and struggles in Riku's arms, slowly quieting. Once the head ache went away, Sora closes his eyes and lay against him. Riku began to push Sora up but Sora's hand tightens around Riku's arm and pushes it away. He slowly opens his eyes and looks up at them all with an unfamiliar gaze. He opens his mouth and inhales.

"Sora?" Riku whispers, hardly blinking.

Sora raises his hand to his eyes and looks at the bandage that had been carefully wrapped around the wound. He brings his other hand to it and grabs hold of the end of the bandage, he gently tugs. The man at the doorway made to move forward but was stopped by Kairi's arm. He looked down at her and she slowly shook her head, eyes tearful. He stepped back and looked to Sora, who was ripping off every single bandage. They watched as he traced cuts with his hands, twitching at the more painful ones.

"Sora?" Riku asked again.

Sora looked up as if he only just realised he was there. He opened his mouth and Riku moved his head closer, so that no-one else could see what he was saying.

"It... was... Dark." Sora focused his eyes. "It hurt...Riku...?" He then closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	4. Talking

Quick Author note: Again, sorry for... everything. This story does contain ANY kind of YAOI.

Riku's breath faltered and he looked up at Sora, who had his eyes closed again. His head sprung up to the guys at the door-way, still with a look of horror on his face. Kairi dashed towards them and looked down at Sora. She helped set him back down on his bed, then looked at Riku. He knew by the look in her eyes that she wanted to know what Sora had said to him. He looked away from her and went down to the living room, everyone following him. He went to the window and put his hands on each side of the window frame, leaning against it. He gazed toward the beach, repeating what Sora had said in his mind, _"It... was... Dark. It hurt. Dark... Hurt... Riku... Riku.."_

"Riku?" He was taken out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder, He turned to see Roxas. Everyone else was sitting looking at him.

"Riku, what did Sora say?" Asked Namine.

Riku looked to the floor, then around everyone. He sighed and started with, "He... uh... He knows me. He said my name. And uh..."

"Riku?" Kairi said, eyes still slightly tearful. "Please."

Again, He looked round everyone. He licked his lips. "He said... It was dark. He said... It hurt." His voice braking on 'Hurt'.

After a few seconds, he looked back up to them. Some were staring at him with wide eyes, Some were crying. Others simply sat. Staring into space.

Sora woke up to the cheery singing of birds. He slowly slid open his eyes and turned his head to the window on the opposite side of the room. The sun shone through the glass, lighting up his entire bedroom. He painfully rises to a sitting position and notices his room was tidier than usual. He twists round so his legs are hanging off the side of the bed. He pushes himself up and wobbles slightly. He put one hand on his bed-side cabinet and tried to get balance. After a minute or two, he manages to keep himself up-right. He walks to the window and puts his forehead on the glass, breathing in the air from the small gap. He sees Kairi turn the corner, coming this way. His eyes then slide toward the beach. Everything else darkens and seems to slide from his view. Voices deafen his ears, Images flash through his mind and water clogs his nose and throat.

Kairi turns the corner and readjusts her school bag on her shoulder. She thinks about how much she misses Sora, at school and in general. She frowns and looks toward Sora's room. She squints and tilts her head. For a moment, she thought she saw... "Sora? Sora!" She shouted, sprinting for the door. She bursts in and everyone turns to her. "Kairi! What are you-" Began Namine.

"It's Sora!" She panted, striding up the stairs, two steps at a time. Riku ran straight after her, without hesitation. They ram the door and see Sora sitting on the windowsill.

"Sora!" Riku gasps, others appearing behind them.

Sora's gaze slides to them. He stares at them, seemingly brain-dead. He focuses on Roxas, "Are you... Ok?"

Roxas chuckles sadly, looking at his blood-covered sleeve. "It's your blood."

"Oh." He looks back to the window, "Good."

Everyone falters, looking at each other.

"Good?" Asks Namine.

"At least none of you are hurt or I-"

Sora pauses then pushes himself off the windowsill, panicky. He holds his throat, "So many-" He coughs, "Voices."

He slides down to the floor next to his bed, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He whispers repeatedly before falling to sleep again.

"Voices?" wonders Kairi.

"Why was he holding his throat?"

They all discussed it. Except Riku. _"At least none of you are hurt or I-" __or he...what? __"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."__ What was he sorry for?_

"_Riku? What are you thinking?" Asks Namine._

_Riku blinks, noticing that he's staring at Sora. "I..." he sighs, looking over to them._

"_RIKU!"_

_Riku jumps and his head snaps to Sora. "Riku? What's wrong?"_

"_Didn't you hear that?" He panics. "Sora just shouted my name!"_

_They look at Sora, who sits peacefully but with his eyebrows down, like he's concentrating. "Guys?"_

_They all jump, squinting at Sora. _

"_Yeah?" Answers Roxas._

"_Roxas? Is that you?"_

"_Yes, it's me."_

"_Oh, good. Roxas, I need to wake up. I need you to do something for me."_

"_Anything."_

"_Ok. First, I need you to get that picture."_

"_You mean-"_

"_Yes, the picture Riku found after..." He pauses, "Anyway, I need you to get that, some water from the beach, and... well just get them first."_

"_Sure. Yeah, okay." He looked back to the guys to see them all watching him. "What?"_

"_What did he say?" Asks Kairi._

"_You didn't hear him?"_

"_No. We heard him say 'Guys?' but nothing after that, just you answering him."_

"_Oh... Well, I'll tell you on the way to the beach."_

"_The beach?" Asks Namine._

_But she couldn't get an answer as Roxas was already out the bedroom door._

_Roxas bolts to the edge of the water and scans the vicinity of the beach. "Where is it!"_

"_Where-is-what?" Pants Riku._

"_The... The picture."_

_Riku almost trips over his own feet. He stares at Roxas like he has two heads, "Why on earth would you want that?"_

"_Sora said to get it."_

"_How would he know?"_

_Roxas sighs, exasperated. "I don't know. Just find it."_

_It's a mere 10 minutes before they find the paper._

_Kairi staggers back, "It's here!" she shouts._

_The others run over to her as she averts her eyes. "Kairi?" _

"_It's just so awful." She squeaks._

_Roxas picks it up and stows it in a small water-proof bag. He puts that in his shoulder bag and takes out a flask._

"_What's that for?" asks Riku_

"_He also said to get some sea water." Everyone turns to him, "Don't ask me! That's just what he said."_

_Roxas shakes his head and walks away from them. He hesitates before lowering the flask to the water. He scoops some up and tightens the lid on. "Right. Let's go back, then."_

"_That's it?" Asks Namine_

"_Yep. For now, anyway." Roxas turn and strides away, then he trips. He looks back to see a large stone, he considers picking it up. He shakes his head and looks in his shoulder-bag, checking nothing broke. He gives a satisfied nod, getting up._

_Once back, Roxas sets the flask on top of the picture on Sora's bed-side cabinet._

"_That Ok?" He asks._

_A moment passes where Roxas believes Sora won't answer._

"_Yes, Thank you. Now, I need something else."_

"_Yeah?" Roxas sighs with relief,_

"_That stone that you tripped over earlier."_

_Roxas' eyes widen, "How did you-?"_

"_Never mind that. Just, please. Get the stone."_

_Roxas looks at the others, "Sure."_

"_Thanks."_


	5. Did it work'

**Chapter 5 – Did it work?**

**Quick author note: I appreciate everyone who is reading this story and would like to thank all of you, especially those who submitted reviews.**

The guys scoured the area for the rock, "What's so important about this one stone, anyway?" asks Namine, picking up yet another wrong one.

"I have no idea. But if he said to get it, I'm going to get it." Roxas replies, kicking a cluster of rocks away.

Day begins to fade, darkening their search.

"Where did you trip?" Asks Riku.

"I told you. It was around h-!" Replies Roxas, tripping. He looks back, annoyed. "Found it...!" He picks it up with both hands. His face darkens and he drops it again.

"Roxas?"

Roxas points, shakily, at the stone. Riku picks it up and examines it. His face whitens but he doesn't drop it. He puts it in his pocket. "Let's go." He mouths to them.

They return, anxious to get this over with. Riku sets the rock on the cabinet next to the other items.

"Sora?" Roxas begins.

"You got it. Thank you." Says Sora's voice.

"No problem."

"Only one more thing."

"Name it."

"My blood."

Roxas does a double-take, "You-? Wha-?"

"My blood, Roxas. Cut my arm."

"I... I can't-"

"What's happening, Roxas?" Asks Riku, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"He... wants me to..." He trails off.

"Roxas, just do it. Please. I need to wake up."

A tear slides down Roxas' face, "Ok." He whispers, taking a step forward.

"There's a pocket knife in the top drawer of the bed-side cabinet."

Roxas nods, numbly.

He pulls open the drawer and picks out the knife. He flicks it open and turns towards Sora.

"Roxas!" Riku bellows, "What are you doing!?"

"He... He told me to." He stutters, a constant stream of tears flowing down his face.

Riku makes to bound forward but instead falls backward as Sora appears in front of him, arms spread out. "Please, Riku. Let him do it."

"S... Sora...?" He whispers, confused. Riku stretches his hand out to find that it goes right through Sora. "W...What?"

"Please?"

Riku nods, slowly.

"Thank you." Sora smiles, fading away.

Roxas places the tip of the blade on Sora's skin. He clenches his teeth, "I can't!" He sobs.

"Yes, you can! Just think about when I wake up."

He presses down on the hilt, letting out the flow of red.

"How much?" Roxas whispers,

"Right down to my wrist."

Roxas bites his lip, cutting down. Sora's body twitches. Roxas catches the blood in a vial, hand shaking uncontrollably. He springs back like he was stung and sets the vial with the other items.

"Everyone, leave the room!" Commands Sora's voice.

They obey as the items start to emit smoke.

A few minutes later, they re-enter the room. The smoke has cleared. The sun-rise of a new day shines through the open window. The items have disappeared and Sora's injury has fully healed. The stare at Sora, waiting for improvement.

"Did it work?" Whispers Namine,

"Maybe we should come back later?" Suggests Kairi, turning to the window.

Everyone else turns to the window, too. "Maybe." Riku agrees.

"Hey, guys!" Their heads snap back to Sora, "Why are you all in my room?" He asks, sitting up. He smiles, His smile. They rush over to him, ambushing him with hugs.

"I think your crushing me!" He mumbles from underneath. They let him go, just to stare at him, happily and speechless. "What?" He laughs, stretching.

"We're so happy your back." giggles Kairi.

"About that..." Sora begins, "What exactly happened?"

They pause, "Don't you remember?"

"Uh... I remember helping Seria out of the water. That's it."

"That's right! You saved her life." Comments Namine.

"Wait. How do you remember her name?" Asks Roxas.

Sora furrows his eyebrows, "I... don't... know."

"Who cares?! Your back! Your ok!" cheers Riku, hugging him again.

After half an hour of expressing how much they missed him, the group take Sora downstairs to see his mum. They descend down the steps, Sora going last. They gather round the sofa, where she fell asleep. "Mum." Whispers Sora, shaking her gently. "Mum."

Her eyes flicker open. In a daze, she mumbles "Sora?"

Sora grins at her, "Yeah. I'm here."

She stumbles into a sitting position and a tear of joy escapes her eye. "Sora! My Sora." She whispers, cuddling him. She doesn't let go of him for a long while, taking in the moment.

The doctor flashes the small light in Sora's eyes, "Seems fine, a bit delayed. I suggest a lot of rest." He smiles.

"Can I go to school tomorrow?" He asks, hopefully.

"Tomorrow? Oh goodness, no. At least a weeks worth of rest."

Sora frowns, hanging his head.

"Tell you what, I'll let you go in TWO days if you promise not to stress yourself."

Sora brightens, "I promise, thank you!"

"No problem." Replies the doctor as Sora slips off the wooden dining chair.

"Yes, thank you doctor." Begins Sora's mum, turning to him. They begin talking about hours of sleep, exercise routines, etc.

Sora strides through the door to his friends, who were all sitting, happily awaiting him.

"I'm alive." Smiles Sora. They return the smile and they laugh together again.

This is not the end. More is to come. Sorry for keeping you waiting but it will be worth it. Keep checking for more chapters! Thanks.


	6. Mr Smith

**Chapter 6 – Mr. Smith**

**Quick author note: I'd like to thank everyone for their support and feedback, especially 'KeybladeMosstar,' who has put very helpful and encouraging reviews.**

Sora opens his eyes to the comforting brightness of his bedroom ceiling. He sighs, happily. First day back at school. He then wonders why he's so excited to go to back. He shrugs and slides out of bed, yawning. He stretches and gets dressed. He enters the kitchen as Roxas and his mum argue. "I still think you shouldn't sleep on the floor, Roxas. That sleeping bag must be very uncomfortable." She says, worried.

"It's ok." He replies.

"At least let me empty the spare room for you."

"No, no. Really, it's fine. It's like camping."

"In a house." Sora adds.

Roxas sticks his tongue out at him. Sora grins. He turns to his mum, "I could help tidy it."

His mother frowns, "Oh, no, dear. I wouldn't want you stressing yourself. Like the doctor said."

"Moving boxes isn't that stressful." He assures her.

"We'll see."

Roxas sits, amazed. "I said I'm fine. Don't I get a say in this?"

"No." They say, together.

Roxas shakes his head, giving a small laugh.

"You boys should be heading off, now." Sora's mum exclaims, looking at the clock.

"Okay, mum." Sora grabs a bit of toast, school-bag swinging from his shoulder. "C,ya." He crunches it, nudges Roxas and nods toward the door. He walks away, munching happily. Roxas smiles and slips off the kitchen chair, scooping up his bag.

Sora's mum notices, "Keep an eye on him, Roxas."

Roxas turns to her and nods. "Yes, ma'am." He holds up his mobile phone, "Anything comes up, I'll call."

He leaves, following Sora. When he exits the house, he finds Sora sitting on the step outside, brushing crumbs from his clothes. He spins round, "Ready?" He gets up, standing tall.

"Yeah. Let's go." Roxas replies, side-stepping him. As they walk to the school, Roxas tells Sora about everything they've been doing in classes.

"Miss Quinn really gave you THAT much homework?" Asks Sora, outraged, as they enter the building.

"Yeah," Roxas chuckles, "Half our class pretended they didn't know what she was talking about the next day."

Sora laughs, shaking his head. His smile soon fades when other people start appearing, "Why are they staring at me?" He whispers, as they walk past a group of staring teens.

"You DID almost drown after saving a little girl's life." Roxas whispers back, frowning.

Sora furrows his eyebrows and quickens his pace. He stops at his locker and removes the appropriate books for his next class. He feels eyes on his back. He slams the locker door shut and rushes down the hallway. He glances back and crashes into someone, dropping his books. "Sorry." He stutters. He picks them back up and makes to move past the person.

"What's your name?" Asks a kind, male voice.

Sora looks up into the eyes of a new-looking teacher, "Oh! Sorry! I'm Sora."

"Say, Sora. What were you trying to get away from?"

He looks back and sees Roxas shouting at the other teens. "I... I don't like being the centre of attention."

"Of course! Sora. Your the hero that saved Seria!"

Sora frowns, "You heard?" He asks, wondering how long this man has been here.

"Yes. Everyone's been talking about it and now your awake!"

Sora frowns further, "Who are you?" He asks, trying to change the subject.

"Oh! I'm a new teacher here. In fact, your in my first class today. I'm Mr. Smith." He smiles, shaking Sora's hand. "Nice to meet you, Sora."

"You, too, Sir."

"I'd best be off then. I've got to go set up my class room. See you, Sora." He says, striding away.

"Right." Mumbles Sora. "Great."

He waits for Roxas before continuing. They meet up with the others outside their registration class.

"What's wrong?" Asks Kairi.

Sora groans, "Why do people stare at you like you have two heads when you do a good thing?"

"They're not brave enough to do it themselves." Riku frowns, arms crossed.

"I completely agree." Nods Namine, "If they can't do it, they think it's strange."

Sora half-smiles at them as the bell rings.

After registration, as they make their way towards the first class, the guys discuss possibilities for the new teacher. Sora watches people, uncomfortably, not realising that they were talking about Mr. Smith.

"I wonder if they're a girl or a guy?" Thinks Namine.

"Most definitely a guy." Says Roxas.

"You figure?"

"Yeah. There's not enough male teachers at the moment, so it's just logical they would hire one."

"Not necessarily." Adds Riku, "If a woman was better qualified, they would pick her."

"True." He agrees.

"What do you think, Kairi?" Asks Namine, turning to her.

Kairi watches Sora, sad-faced.

Roxas and Riku turn, too, and see how distracted he is.

They enter the classroom last. As they take their seats, Mr. Smith nods to Sora, beaconing him. Sora goes over to him, smiling.

"Sora. Do you know everyone's names in this class?" He asks, hurriedly.

Sora looks around the class and nods.

"Good, Good. Can you write down everyone's names and where they sit?"

Sora nods again, taking the piece of paper Mr. Smith was holding out to him. Relief washes over the teacher's face as he puts a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Thanks. I've already lost the registration sheet, so this will be really helpful! Now, go sit down while I get started." He smiles again, turning to the rest of the class.

Sora sits beside Riku, in front of Roxas and behind Kairi.

The guys look at him and Namine asks from beside Kairi, "Do you know him?"

Sora nods, beginning to note down the names.

Mr. Smith gets everyone to write down a few sentences about themselves in their jotters. Everyone, except Sora, who was now drawing a table layout of the room. When he was done, he returned the paper to Mr. Smith at the front, hating the walk past everyone.

Mr. Smith nods at it approvingly. Then he stands up and turns Sora to face the class, "Thanks to Sora, here, we're going to watch a DVD for the rest of the class!"

The class cheers loudly. Sora suddenly squints, head-ache starting up.

Mr. Smith silences the class and lets them pick out of three movies as Sora moves back to his seat. The guys turn to him again, but this time, worried.

"Are you ok?" Whispers Riku.

Sora nods, stroking his fore-head. He smiles and they subside, except Roxas.

He watches Sora closely and notices... 'The light.' Roxas mouths, aghast.

His eyes widen and his jaw automatically drops, giving him a look of shock and fear. He stares at Sora, unaware of the look on his own face. Sora then begins to scribble sentences in his jotter. Kairi turns around, grinning. Her smile drops when she sees his face. She signals to Riku and taps Namine on the shoulder. They look at her and she points to Roxas, who is still staring at Sora. His eyes flick to them and then back to Sora. They're automatically on guard, trying to see in Sora what he saw. Unable to find the problem, the guys turn to Roxas, quizzically. The bell starts to ring, startling them.

They exit the room, behind the main crowds. "Sora!" Calls a voice. They turn and see Mr. Smith gesturing to Sora from the classroom door. Sora shrugs to the guys and runs back.

"What's up-?"

"What's wrong-?"

"Roxas-?"

They all ask him at once, muddling they're speech.

"He-" Roxas begins. "You know how his eyes are always shining? Like when we're happy?"

They all furrow their eyebrows, confused. "Y..Yeah?"

"It's not there."

Further confused, they ask, "What? What isn't?"

"The light in his eyes... is gone."

"Thank you so much for your help, Sora. I didn't really want to be a teacher, so anything- or anyone that helps is a saviour." Mr. Smith says, while pottering around the class.

"No problem. But, if you don't mind me asking, what did you want to be?"

"Oh, I wanted to be a writer." He smiles.

"What kind of writing?" Sora asks.

"Factual. I wanted to write about ancient ceremonies and such."

"Cool."

"Well, Sora. Mustn't keep you. Your free to go. Thank you, again."

"Goodbye, Sir."

Note: If you have questions like, "Why do you like torturing Sora?" Well... I don't know. So, don't ask. :)


	7. Unhappy?

**Chapter 7 – Unhappy?**

**Quick author note: I REALLY want you all to know that your reviews always make my day. Thank you all so much. And I'm really, REALLY sorry for how long this has taken me, but my teachers have been keeping me busy!**

"What do we do?" Asks Namine.

"We help him." Answers Riku.

They all turn to him.

"We help him to be happy again."

"How?" Questions Kairi, squinting at him.

"We buy him ice-cream, tell jokes, make a real effort to give him something to be happy about."

The guys smile, discussing their plans.

Sora gently clicks the door shut and makes his way back over to the others.

"Hey, Sora-" Begins Riku, turning to him. He freezes, realising Roxas was right. The light WAS gone. The guys all stare as well and Sora squints at them.

"What? Is something wrong?" He asks, smiling.

They then notice how the smile was hesitant and strained. "No...No." Riku mumbles, "Nothings wrong at all. Let's go."

As they made their way to the next class they asked him what Mr. Smith wanted, "So... What did he say?" Asked Namine.

"Just thanking me and telling me about how he wanted to write about rituals and such. That's all."

"The usual stuff, then!" Laughs Kairi, sarcastically. Everyone breaks into laughter, except Sora, who simply smiled weakly.

The guys look at each other, disappointed at their failed first attempt.

The end-of-school bell rings and all the guys meet up to discuss their plans for Sora.

"How about the park?" Suggests Namine.

Riku paces and mumbles, "Park... maybe."

"Shopping? We could buy him something?" Wonders Kairi.

"Maybe... Maybe."

"Ice-cream?" Roxas adds.

Riku clicks his fingers, "Let's buy him ice-cream THEN go to the park."

"Ok!" They agree.

They all walk quickly to catch up with Sora. They see him strolling slowly along the path to his house. "Sora!" Riku shouts.

Sora turns round, surprised. The guys rush up to him. He breathes out, "Hey."

"We are going for ice-cream!"

Sora raises his eyebrows, "What?"

"Come on!" Laughs Kairi, dragging Sora's arm.

"Ok, ok!" He smiles, following them.

They get to the ice-cream shop and order five sea-salt ice-creams. The woman at the counter looks out at them and sees Sora. She blinks, "No charge."

The guys are taken-aback and look at her questioningly.

"For what you did." She began, looking at Sora. "We are all grateful."

Sora stares back at her with his mouth slightly open. Namine turns to the woman, "Thank you very much."

The woman nods, looking worriedly at Sora. She hands them their ice-cream and goes back to her business. Sora's eyes divert to the ground.

"What a nice woman." Kairi states, taking a bite of her ice-cream.

"Come on." Riku says, leading the way.

Sora takes one last look at the shop before trailing after his friends.

They reach the park as the sun sets. They all sit on the wall of the park, eating ice-cream and watching the sun set. Riku looks over to Sora, "Your ice-cream is melting."

Sora seems fixated on the sky before taking a bite of the blue, salty-sweet ice-cream.

They all finish and silently gaze at the red sky.

That evening, Sora helped his mother empty the spare room for Roxas.

As Roxas slept comfortably in his new bed, Sora paced in the cold night air outside the house, wondering what has been happening to him. _That girl, _He thinks, _Seria... _

_I... helped her out of the water. Was she drowning? _

_Yes... I think so. But, why did no-one else help? _

… _I knew. I knew she was drowning, before anyone told me. How did I know?_

A vision of a hand falling through water flashes through his mind, he sees a bigger hand reaching down to help the other. He blinks and gets balance. _Was that me? Helping her? _

Another image, clearer now, of darkness spreading through the water. Sora looks towards the beach and takes a step forward. "What am I doing?" He says aloud. "Why would I go to the water?" He sighs, going back to his thinking.

_So... there was darkness?_

_A wave... There was a wave. How did I get out? I was drowning..._

"Sora!" Calls his mum. Sora blinks, realising that he'd been out here all night.

He walks in the door and closes it behind him. "Yeah, I'm here." He assures her.

"Oh, good." She breathes.

Roxas walks in happily, "What were you doing?"

"Just needed some air." He replies.

Roxas sits down, too happy to worry.

"Have a nice sleep, Roxas?" Asks Sora, sitting beside him.

"Heavenly."

Sora laughs, leaning back in the chair.

Sora's mum comes through from Sora's room, worried.

"Sora.." She begins, "Did you sleep?"

Roxas snaps out of his happiness and looks from Sora to his mum.

"Yes." Sora answers, "I made my bed."

"You...? Made your own bed?" Her worry gets replaced with surprised happiness, "Well, good work. Couldn't have done it better myself." She potters the kitchen, smiling.

_That's because you DID do it, mum. _He thinks. He hated lying, but he would rather lie to them than make them worry.

That day at school, as the guys were walking through the hallways, A group of boys bumps into Sora and spit, "Freak." At him. Sora frowns and looks at the ground. The rest of the guys look back at the group in disgust. A boy who stands in the hallway walks up to Sora, "Don't listen to them. They're idiots." He smiles.

Sora looks up at the boy with gratitude.

Riku turns and sees the boy. "Hi. Who are you?"

"Sorry. My name is Thomas. I was just telling Sora how he shouldn't listen to those morons. They're just mad that you're better than them." He smiles and says, "Anyway, better be going. Got classes to attend to. Bye."

"Bye, Thomas." Sora smiles.

"Well, at least there are still SOME good people left in this school, besides us." Adds Roxas, watching Thomas disappear.

Sora nods and they head off to class.

(That night)

Sora stands outside his house, thinking deeply.

_That stone... it had a picture on it... The hands from the vision._

_A hand from the water. Cut me._

Sora looks down at his wrist and sees a faded mark. _Why did I go to the water?_

_I recall... A voice. That cold voice. It called my-_

"Sora." Whispered the voice.


End file.
